Chapter 141

Elara's POV

Zarek's body stiffened when my words left my lips. His head, which had been bowed low, lifted slowly until his eyes locked with mine.

"I don't make jokes about things like this," he murmured, his voice low, raw. His gaze—dark as the abyssal depths of the sea we'd just fought against—reflected only me. "Elara, I don't know if what I feel for you is what you'd call love, but I know this—